Billet inventories in the Tangshan region totaled 940,000 tonnes, down by 10,000 tonnes from a week earlier, according to a local trader.

On the export side, deals for Chinese billet were concluded at $563-568 per tonne cfr Philippines last week. Buyers needed to secure billet orders to produce rebar, and they could not source any low-priced supply.

Southeast Asia
Because of offers from China at lower prices, import prices of billet in Southeast Asia edged downward late last week, after a slight increase on Monday.

Besides bookings of Chinese cargoes in the Philippines, a major South Korean supplier sold billet to the country at around $550 per tonne fob.

China-origin cargoes were also heard offered to Indonesia at $550-560 per tonne cfr, down by $10 from the previous week. But re-rollers there were still holding back from booking orders, waiting for prices to fall below $550 per tonne cfr, an Indonesia-based trader said.

The continued weakness in the Indonesian domestic rebar market also affected billet demand.

Metal Bulletin’s weekly price for Southeast Asia import billet was $565-575 per tonne cfr on March 12, narrowing upward from the previous week’s level of $560-575 per tonne cfr.

The reduction in billet prices in China also made clients more cautious. “Buyers would expect possible non-delivery by some Chinese mills if bookings were made at such low prices,” a Vietnam-based trader said.

Offers were heard from the CIS at $550 per tonne fob Black Sea, which is equivalent to around $595 per tonne cfr Southeast Asia. But that price was too high for buyers to accept, sources said.
CIS, Turkey
After an increase in CIS billet prices early on Monday, activity in the region’s billet market was muted during the week, with customers waiting for more clarity in the Chinese market before making further purchases.

Metal Bulletin’s CIS export index was $551 per tonne fob Black Sea on March 12, up by $17 from the previous week.

But no new bookings for material were made during the week with downward sentiment starting to spread in the market.

In Turkey, the latest offers of CIS-origin billet were heard at $570 per tonne cfr, equivalent to $550 per tonne fob. Ukraine’s Metinvest offered at $575 per tonne cfr Turkey, or $555-560 per tonne fob.

An unconfirmed amount of CIS-origin billet was booked at $565 per tonne cfr, while Iran was offering similar product at $550-560 per tonne cfr.

Iran, India
In Iran, the country’s largest billet exporter, Khouzestan Steel, opened a tender for May-production material from March 11 until March 16. Market participants estimated the price at $530-535 per tonne fob, but the company expected to achieve as much as $550-560 per tonne fob.

While mills were pushing for higher prices in new tenders, some market participants were quite bearish, noting recent price fluctuations in the Chinese market.

Esfahan Steel was also offering billet for June-shipment at $530 per tonne fob, including 30% pre-payment.